Wii Have a Problem
by Darien Fawkes
Summary: Mike introduces Emily to the joys of the Wii...is that a good idea?
1. Chapter 1

**Legal: **I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, characters, places, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be presumed to be purely the creation of the author.

**Rating: **T – may be some mild adult themes.

Emily arrived in the living room, finding Mike dancing around and couldn't help but chuckle. It had been a couple of days since he had spoken to her in the garden, and she had been thinking about him a lot.

He was in his training uniform, and she was a little surprised he had so much energy given that he was given a 500 push up punishment by Master Ji as a result of being late yet again. She never really understood how he could be late pretty much every day since they all lived on academy grounds, but she couldn't deny she loved to watch him doing punishment drills, especially when he took his top off to do them.

She had long since resigned herself to the fact she was hopelessly crushing on the guy. He was good looking, that had never been lost on her. She had noticed it from the moment they first met, but it went beyond that. He was brave, smart, cool, all the things she wasn't. She had already resigned herself to the fact that her crush was all one-way though.

When she had kissed him, he didn't say a word. Since then, he had never said anything about it. It broke her heart. She hated feeling this way, she knew how he felt, but since then he hadn't even acknowledged what she had done, even to just tell her that it was all in her head and that it wasn't going to happen.

As he did a spin, he stopped as he saw her. She looked amazing to him, but then she always did. Although she always protested otherwise, he had thought of her as beautiful since the moment he met her all those months ago. She was beautiful, but unlike most of the pretty faces he had met in his life, she didn't rely on it, or use it. Indeed, if anything, she constantly turned her back on it and was almost apologetic about it. She never believed what anyone told her whenever they complimented her. In many ways, it was one of the things that drew him to her. She had a quality about her that made him want to take care of her. When he carried her on his back after the battle with Negatron, feeling her head resting on his shoulder just felt right.

"Um...I was just..."

"What are you doing?" She asked him, coming into the room. He gestured to the controller in his right hand.

"I'm playing the Wii." He told her. "Dance Hero."

"There's a game about dancing?" She asked him.

"Yeah, the song comes on and you just follow the directions on the screen." He explained. "Um...do you want to give it a try?"

Emily smiled as she heard this. Although she wanted more, she loved that he wanted to include her in something that meant so much to him. She knew that gaming was a big part of his life, the friends he had defended against the Nighlock were guys he hung out with at the arcade. Most of his stories somehow revolved around games, he even had trophies and medals he'd sometimes tell them about. One of the few possessions he had brought with him that she had seen was a medal he had won at a Street Fighter tournament when he was 12. She came over to him as he picked up another remote, handing it to her.

"So...we just dance?" She asked him.

"I need to start up the song first." He told her, tapping a few controls. He checked the list, and smiled as he found what he considered the song selection, thinking about getting this chance to spend time with her. He knew he had dropped the ball when he hadn't made a move after she kissed him, but he figured he had left it too long now to simply bring it up. It was somewhat of an embarrassing faux pas on his part that he hadn't done anything about it. He was just too caught up in everything. Settling on the song choice "Dragostei Din Tei" by O-zone, he made his way to her side.

"Just watch the screen." He told her. Emily just smiled and nodded in response. As the song started, she turned her attention to the characters on the screen.

She started dancing at the prompts, following the directions as best she could. She had somewhat questionable rhythm, but that didn't bother Mike at all. He couldn't help grinning broadly as he watched her bopping away to the beat enthusiastically. She was beautiful even when she made herself look like a complete dork. She was so down on herself, it was a welcome change to see her simply let go and not care what anyone thought. Neither of them noticed when Jayden arrived.

"What's going on here?" He asked. As Emily turned to face him, startled by his greeting, the remote slipped from her hand. It went straight through the screen, showering the room in sparks and broken glass. She covered her nose and mouth with her hands in shock surveying the scene of destruction.

"We um..." Mike began, putting an arm around her protectively. "I was showing her how to play Wii."

"Maybe we should talk to Master Ji about taking Wii remotes into battle." Jayden chuckled.

"Will you tell him?" Mike asked him.

"Somehow I think he'll notice the fact the TV's gone." Jayden replied sarcastically. "I won't tell him, but at least, you know...clean up a little?"

As he left, Mike wrapped his other arm around Emily, bringing her into a deep hug. He could tell that the accident really upset her. She was always so hard on herself whenever something went wrong like that.

"I should have explained that they have wrist straps." He told her. He held her closely, comforting her in her upset, but enjoying the opportunity to hold her in his arms.

"What'll Master Ji say?" She whimpered. As Mike was about to answer, Master Ji came into the room.

"What happened to the TV?" He asked incredulously, gesturing to the mess. "Flat screen, surround, High Def...I just finished paying for it!"

"Um...I had a little accident." Mike told him. Emily looked up to him, tears already forming as she heard him say that, taking the blame to save her. "Sorry, I'll clean up and..."

"My favourite show is on at 8." Master Ji interrupted him in a sigh, shaking his head. Mike was a terrible liar, and Emily's actions pretty much gave away what had happened, but he found it admirable that Mike would protect one of his team like that. "I expect to watch it."

"I'll get another TV." Mike assured him. "Sorry."

"Just...have this all cleaned up by then." Master Ji told him. Mike just nodded as he turned on his heel and left.

"I broke the TV." Emily told him. "I can't believe you took the hit like that."

"It is partly my fault." He said with a shrug. "I should have told you about the wrist strap."

He leaned in, kissing the top of her head. Emily smiled as she felt him do this, lost in thoughts about him. Although she had once again screwed up and cause mayhem and destruction, feeling Mike's arms around her and being with him made it seem not so bad.

"There's an electrical appliance shop down the street." He told her. "We'll get changed and then head out there."

Emily just nodded and walked away, chewing her nails nervously. Despite the accident, and despite the fact she knew she was going to be out a good couple of hundred dollars by the time she had paid for the new television, she couldn't help smiling. Her heart was beating at a million miles an hour as she thought about Mike.

Watching her go, he smiled as he took off his top and headed for his room to change into his street clothes. He might have dropped the ball when he didn't make a move a couple of days ago, but he was determined not to make the same mistake again if another opportunity presented itself. Emily was unlike anyone he had ever met, and wanted to get closer to her, even if it did mean replacing the occasional broken television.


	2. The New TV

Mike and Emily were in the sitting room, surrounded by screws, metal bars, wooden planks and polystyrene packaging. Having destroyed the television, when Mike had introduced her to his Nintendo Wii, they had been sent to the electrical appliance shop down the street to buy a replacement. Strictly speaking, the academy was Master Ji's home, and he had been kind enough to take them in when they came to him for training, so it was only fair that they repair the damage they had caused.

Mike was kneeling on the floor, surrounded by parts, staring at the construction in front of him, while Emily perused the instruction manual intently, her expression betraying her confusion.

"Well, the stand looks absolutely nothing like it does on the box." He blurted out as he gestured to it. "Are you sure we shouldn't just use the wall brackets?"

"After how much it cost us for this thing? Are you kidding?" She grumbled, staring at the garbled and nonsensical instructions yet again, hoping that somehow her mind would just turn into the Rosetta Stone and she'd suddenly get it. "Who the hell prints these things? I can read English and Japanese. Trust me to pick the TV with the instructions in German."

"Well we need to figure something out. If Master Ji misses his programme, we'll be doing sit-ups till the morning run." He told her, taking the instructions off her. He inspected them himself, before shaking his head.

"Um...ok, the power symbols are easier to understand than these diagrams." He agreed. Just then, Jayden came into the room and looked at it.

"OK what's that meant to be?" He asked them.

"The new TV stand." Emily whined. "There are wall brackets, but we've already smashed one television. I'm going to be broke for the next couple of months. I can't afford to replace another one!"

"Well I used to do all Master Ji's flat pack furniture." Jayden told them, taking the instructions off them. "I should have this ready in no time. You just clear away the old one."

"Thanks Jayden." Mike replied gratefully as they got up and left. They had packed away what was left of the old television in a few boxes, and were just waiting until they were finished to take them out to the curb for the trash man. Mike bent over, picking up one of the boxes and handing it to Emily, before picking up another of them.

As they headed outside, it was a beautiful evening. The sun was just starting to go down, and the sky was displaying a beautiful variety of yellow, red and orange shades over the tops of the trees and buildings. As they put the boxes down on the edge of the pavement, Emily sighed as she looked to the sky.

Mike couldn't help staring at her. For the first time in the last couple of days, she appeared peaceful and content. He knew that Negatron had reminded her about a lot of what was happening at home in her absence, and had brought up a lot of her insecurities. It wasn't helped by the fact she had kissed him and he hadn't responded in any real way, but she caught him off-guard. The incident with the television had done no good whatsoever, but for some reason this put her at ease.

"It's a nice night." He stated.

"It's lovely." She agreed. "It, um...it reminds me a lot of home. There aren't many cars or factories around, so we get nice nights like this all the time."

"The smog's been quite low today." He told her. "That must be why the sky's so clear."

"My sister loved the sunset." Emily told him. "She used to take me onto the porch some nights to watch them. Mom always used to insist we only did it on weekends so we would be OK for school, but sometimes when I'd been really sad, when the kids had been really mean, we'd sneak out."

He took her back into the garden, and sat with her on one of the benches.

"She'd just play her flute for me, and we'd talk." Emily told him. "A few times, I'd fall asleep while we were out there and Serena would have to carry me back inside. I always woke up in my own bed, no matter how long we talked."

She paused as she thought about her home and her beloved sister. She knew that contacting her family was forbidden for their own safety, but that didn't make it any easier. So far, she knew that Mike had seen her contemplating calling her sister, but as far as she knew, he hadn't told any of the others, least of all Master Ji. She remembered when Mike had visited his friends at the arcade; Master Ji had given him a long lecture about the rules. If he knew, then he would have done the same with her. She was sure of it.

"She was so strong." Emily told him. "When she got sick, all she did was apologise to me for the fact I'd be in danger. All she could think about was me and the fact I'd have to try and fill her shoes."

"She's not the only one that's strong." Mike told her. As she looked at him, he bent over and picked up a training sword. She just looked at him a little confused. "You really don't know how strong you are do you?"

"Mike?" She asked him.

"We all see it in you. Even Master Ji's said it." He told her. "You only do this to yourself. When you have a sword in your hand, you're a completely different person. You're strong, decisive, you just...you don't let anything scare you."

"I was taught to use a sword since I could walk." Emily replied. "It's second nature to me, like riding a bi..." She tailed off as she looked to Mike realising what she was about to say. He just let out a small laugh.

"I guess my sword lessons aren't the only thing I let slide as a kid." He said quietly, looking to the sword. "You know what the difference is when you have this?"

She just shook his head, looking into his face as he smiled at her.

"When you're holding this, you don't think so much." He told her. "You know what you need to do and just do it. You don't think about what can go wrong, you have confidence. You show us all what we all already know about you, that you're one of the strongest samurai there is."

"Thanks Mike." She replied, reaching for the sword. He didn't hand it over though, which confused her. "Um...why aren't you giving it to me?"

"I guess I'm just worried." He told her. "Like I said, when you have this, you're stronger. You kick my butt all the time with it."

"That's only in training." She reminded him.

"What if I did something you weren't expecting?" He asked her. "I made a huge mistake."

"What mistake was that?" She asked him.

"Emily, I'm talking about the other day." He clarified. "You know...when you kissed me."

She wrapped her arms around herself as she heard this. Although she wanted more from Mike, when he hadn't said anything after the kiss, she presumed that he just wasn't into her. It was something of a blessing that he hadn't said anything, somewhat sparing her dignity after she laid herself on the line like that. By now, she was hopeful that he wouldn't speak of it again.

"Emily, I'm sorry I never said anything." He told her. "It's just...you took me by surprise. I never would have thought you thought about me like that."

She just shrugged her shoulders, trying to look away from him and hoping that the conversation would just end, or at very least, that he'd get it over with quickly.

"It's alright, I get it." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I guess..."

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop being sorry?" He asked her. "The thing is, I just...this has never happened to me before. I'm kind of in new territory here."

"You?" She asked him. "But...I thought..."

"You don't know much about the gaming culture do you?" He asked her. "It's kind of male-dominated. It isn't really seen as being as glamorous or spectacular as being into sports or music or...well, I guess the simple way to put it is that back home, my friends and I aren't exactly considered cool. I'm kind of a nerd."

"I don't understand." She said a little nervously.

"I guess I was worried that if I gave you this," he began, nodding to the sword, "you might not let me try to correct my mistake. You might not let me kiss you."

"There's one way to find out." She replied, taking the sword from him gently. They turned towards each other, looking into each other's eyes, at which they started to lean in towards each other. Emily closed her eyes as her heart started to race. She didn't know if this was real, or if she was dreaming, but she soon got her answer as Jayden walked out, the sound of the door opening interrupting them. They pulled away from each other, straightening themselves out as Mike turned to face him.

"I figured out the TV stand." He informed them. "Mike, would you come and help me set up the TV?"

"I guess." He replied. As he turned and left, Mike looked back to Emily regretfully. "Sorry about this."

"Me too." She replied as he got up to leave. "Um...if you want to try again..."

"I was hoping you'd say something like that." He told her in a sigh. "You can be sure of it."

As he left, she got up, putting the sword up on a rack as she came inside. She couldn't help thinking of Mike, and what he had said. She was sure after the way he reacted, or more accurately hadn't reacted that he didn't return how she felt about him. Now though, she couldn't help feeling like the fact she was going to be broke for the next couple of months wasn't so bad. After all, she was sure they'd get to know each other better after a few nights at home.


End file.
